United States Census

Learn which states and localities took their own censuses, and where these state census records can be found.

Learn how more than 99 percent of the 1890 US Federal census records were destroyed and which 1890 census records are still available to researchers.

Handy list of abbreviations and their meanings, gathered from census forms and census taker instructions for the US, Canadian and British censuses.

Browse this census comparison chart to learn where you can find the census index and/or images that you need. Includes complete information on who has every name or head of household indexes, who offers digital images, and where to find free census resources for the U.S.

Learn which census records are the first ones you should check for the information you seek on your ancestors. Includes tips and major answers for each U.S. census year, 1790-1930.

Learn what questions were asked and how to find your ancestors in the US Federal Census. Includes details for each census year, 1790-1930, and links to free online census records, where applicable.

Article compares the various US census subscription sites, incuding full reviews and comparison charts. Learn which sites offer indexes and images for the census year you want, which has the best images, and which makes searching the census a breeze.

Make sense of the information on census forms with this handy list of abbreviations and their meanings, gathered from census forms and census taker instructions for the US, Canadian and British census.

Read a review of the federal census images and indexes provided online by Ancestry.com to subscribing members, and compare their offerings to other online census collections.

Read a review of the US census subscription service offered by Genealogy.com, including census images and census indexes for the years 1790-1930.

Check with your area libraries to learn if they provide free online access to this US census database covering the years 1790-1930.

Learn how to use census records in your genealogy research from Curt Witcher, former president of the National Genealogical Society and current Head of the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

A sobering article on the tragedies surrounding the 1890 census and how it eventually led to the formation of the National Archives.

Free printable abstract forms for the various census years.

As they produce CDs of original, scanned census documents, they are allowing USGenWeb to put it online, free of charge.  They also publish many census books.

The U.S. Census Bureau does not provide genealogical information.  They do, however, have a lot of interesting information on the Census available.

The data presented here includes the questions from the1790 to 1970 Decennial Censuses (not specific to individual households).  You can browse demographic information at the National, State, or County level.

This volunteer project was begun in 1997 with the mission of transcribing all of the U.S. Federal Censuses. 

1940 census

Learn how an enumeration district is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and how to use the enumeration district or ED number to locate individuals in historic U.S. census records, 1970 through 1940.